Senior Da'Jour Tims (4) is tripped up at the end of a
kick return early in the Homecoming win.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
The Good Ship Viking defense seemed poised to sail into port at the close of the regular season with another solid effort, following up on La Jolla's stoppage of Mission Bay in a big win Oct. 24 and two successful goal-line stands against highly-ranked Madison in a close loss on Halloween.
But with 0-9 Kearny coming into the beach city as supposed fodder for the Vikings' big Homecoming feast Nov. 7, it didn't appear the defensive players were distracted by all the hoopla and holler. Rather, they didn't take the winless Komets seriously enough, despite Coach Jason Carter's comment at the start of the final week of practice that "We respect all our opponents."
As a result, the Komets' opening short kick to the left caught a La Jolla special teams player on the helmet, bounced off, and was recovered by a Kearny player. Given the short field, the visitors then immediately scored and La Jolla, to its surprise, was down 6-0. A receiver got behind the Viking pass coverage and wended his way to the end zone.
Carter, in a symbolic gesture to honor his seniors, had put his senior offensive players in the defensive backfield before Kearny's first play from scrimmage on what was Senior Night in addition to Homecoming. The move drew a penalty for too many players on the field. The coach, when questioned about it after the game, insisted he will use the gesture "every year". But it was one more thing out of the ordinary, and after Kearny's initial score and rejoinder by La Jolla's offense, the Komets took a 13-6 lead for the first time on any opponent this season.
Prior to the game against La Jolla, Kearny had not scored two touchdowns in any prior game the whole season except for two in a blowout loss to Mission Bay.
Viking assistant coach Mike Dutra, who took over as defensive coordinator this season after the Vikings struggled defensively last year, said before the game that the defense jelled in the Mission Bay and Madison games because players who had been playing out of position were now situated, and some blocking schemes had been changed.
"The turning point was the second half of the Point Loma game," commented Dutra, before heading up to the press box where he communicates with his defensive assistants via earphones throughout the game. "We shut out what would be a Division I team, if the playoffs started today (before Point Loma lost that night to Madison in the deciding game for the Western League title)."
But clearly, the defense didn't come ready to play against Kearny, as the Komets' five touchdowns on the night soon showed.
Meanwhile, on the offensive side, quarterback Collin Rugg completed six touchdown passes to four different receivers to add to his record totals: fellow seniors Brandon Bonham for 20 and 10 yards, and Carlton O'Neal for 30 yards, and juniors Trenton Fudge for 3 and 53 yards, and Jonathan Levenson for 7 yards.
On the ground, senior Reid Martin showed he has recovered fully from a broken leg in running over for a 3-yard touchdown carry to go with his 116 yards on 16 carries. Completing the scoring, Joe Vang took a touchdown in from 15 yards, and Levenson carried for a 7-yard score.
Carter spoke highly of Grant Miller, who had a quarterback sack as well as a 24-yard pass reception, both in the third quarter. "(Miller) is an ironman," said the happy yet frustrated head coach on the field after the game. "He has done everything we have asked him to do. He does everything for the team."
In a festive final Homecoming before the Edwards Field surface is torn up next Spring to be replaced by new artificial turf over the following 18 months, the nascent Viking Marching Band displayed its fine talent front-and-center after the Viking Cheer squad performed a sharp, entertaining routine--both units for the second week in a row. The tall flags section of the marching band twirled their bright orange pennants in the midst of the student musicians.
Following the dance and music, alumni and class princes and princesses in classic vehicles, as well as class floats on the Homecoming theme "Superhero", paraded before the enormous home crowd. Then, at midfield, this year's Homecoming king and queen were presented at midfield.
Copyright 2014 Ed Piper
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